


For The Battle To Come

by dragon-gays (emoscully)



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/F, Homosexuality, Late Night Conversations, Requited Unrequited Love, Resolved Sexual Tension, The Winter Palace (Dragon Age)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-30
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-25 15:00:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10766649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emoscully/pseuds/dragon-gays
Summary: In the weeks before the ball at the Winter Palace, Skyhold was alight with the hum of anxiety of all its inhabitants."Would you mind looking at dresses? I can't decide what to wear."Cassandra studied Valerie's face. She looked entirely earnest. "You want my help? You come from nobility- surely you have better taste than I.""You're noblity too, and you dress sensibly."





	For The Battle To Come

In the weeks before the ball at the Winter Palace, Skyhold was alight with the hum of anxiety of all its inhabitants.  
Leliana left the Rookery far more frequently than normal to compensate for the fact that Josephine was in far more meetings than normal, and thus Leliana was the one to deal mostly with the Inquisitor and her requests surrounding the ball. Although Josephine ordered all the dresses and shoes, Leliana had picked several out as well, and she was the one who brought them up to Valerie's chambers. Nearly every day she came with more, as the Inquisitor still had yet to choose.  
Even Cullen, who didn't have much to do really, except for verify that his uniform fit alright, seemed more agitated than usual. It was evident he didn't want to go to the ball, which was fine by Valerie, who wasn't thrilled herself. She missed parties, and even The Game, to an extent, but she knew the party wouldn't be much fun if she was on the lookout for an assassin the entire time.  
Several of the companions who were coming were nothing but nerves, and even Vivienne was pricklier than usual.  
Cassandra, who had previously expressed nothing but annoyance at all of the goings-ons, gave into her nerves about a week and a half before they were to depart, and started taking walks at night to calm herself enough so that she could sleep.  
For two or three nights she'd walked down to the stables and back, and that was enough to settle her nerves. The next day it had rained, and the fourth night she was forced to walk along the battlements, so as to avoid walking through the mud unnecessarily.  
On that night, she found herself pacing for longer than usual, and she was walking faster than usual. She looked down at the ground as she walked, thinking in retrospect of all the things she might have done that would have made her less anxious now. For example, she could have looked at the guest list, and then she wouldn't have to wonder who on earth was coming, and who she'd have to avoid, and where she'd have to position herself to avoid being asked to dance, and-  
"Watch where you're walking," teased Valerie's voice. Cassandra had caught her arm as they ran into each other, and knew very well that had she not, Valerie would have fallen over. She was startlingly unbalanced if you caught her by surprise.  
Several moments later, Cassandra realized she was still holding Valerie's arm, and Valerie was looking at her expectantly. She pulled her hand back and murmured her apologies.  
"Can't sleep?" Valerie asked lightly.  
Cassandra cleared her throat and nodded. "It's ridiculous, this whole thing."  
"Cullen thinks so, too," Valerie said, her disappointment evident. "I wish we could simply go to a party without having an ulterior motive so time consuming as catching an assassin- I just want to dance."  
Cassandra sighed and looked sidelong at Valerie, who had been gazing at her almost dreamily. Cassandra leaned both her forearms on the wall of the battlement, whereas Valerie leaned against it with her hip, her arms crossed.  
"You've been dancing with Leliana and Josephine, haven't you?" Cassandra asked, knowing for a fact that the Inquisitor had been practicing dancing and frequently missed her training because of it. "They're probably the only ones at the Palace that you could dance with, without having them try to get engaged to you the next week, anyway."  
At this, Valerie did laugh, much to Cassandra's surprise, as she was being honestly pessimistic. "I suppose I just wish I could dance with someone I love, really, which probably wouldn't happen at the ball even if we weren't on the lookout for a killer."  
Cassandra's stomach twisted as she thought of Valerie, fierce little Valerie, in love with some boring noble in Orlais. She knew, really, that Valerie wouldn't want that sort of life day in and day out, but she couldn't help feeling- was that jealousy?  
She cleared her head- still unsure of how to respond, and Valerie picked up on this and changed the subject.  
"Cassandra, are you tired?"  
"I-" she froze for a second. She wasn't sure if she was tired. She was, indeed, and her body was sore and she suddenly wanted to sit down, but she knew she'd probably be up for hours more. "I'm not going to sleep anytime soon, if that's what you mean."  
Valerie's eyes positively lit up- Cassandra could tell even as a cloud passed over the moon and left them in near-total darkness, save for the stars, which were dampened with fog.  
"Would you mind looking at dresses? I can't decide what to wear, and every day this goes on, poor Josie and Leliana get more anxious."  
Cassandra studied Valerie's face. She looked entirely earnest. "You want my help? You come from nobility- surely you have better taste than I."  
"My mother always dressed me," Valerie said, voice tinged with something Cassandra couldn't identify. "Besides, you're noblity too, and you dress sensibly."  
Cassandra knew Valerie's family, particularly her mother, was a topic she didn't like to discuss, and she nodded her head in resignation. "I'd love to come look at dresses."  
As she followed Valerie to her room, she wondered if dressing sensibly was a compliment or an insult- but she decided on the former, since Valerie was very obviously hoping Cassandra would choose a dress for her.  
As they entered the room, Valerie found the fire had mostly gone out with no one to tend it, and Cassandra offered to start another.  
"Oh, you're a dear," Valerie sighed, lighting several lamps so that Cassandra could see the dresses properly. As Cassandra stoked the fire until it was large enough to sustain itself, Valerie cleared a place for her to sit on the bed- which was covered in dozens of dresses.  
By the time Cassandra stood up and turned to face Valerie, she was shimmying out of her leggings.  
"Sorry," she instinctively apologized, turning around.  
"Don't be silly," Valerie said, "you see me change all the time when we're traveling. Come, sit down."  
This was true, Cassandra had seen Valerie change, and even bathe, plenty of times before. Somehow, though, by firelight in Valerie's real bedroom- it seemed far more intimate.  
Valerie was entirely naked from the waist up, and below that she had on only her smallclothes- she'd decided against stockings for all of the dresses, that was for certain.  
"Josephine says it's improper if I'm not wearing at least four layers- well, she didn't say that, but she might as well have for all of the clothes she's passed on to me- look-," Valerie gestured to a pile of silk shirts, sleeved and sleeveless, and several matching variations of pants and skirts. "She expects me to wear those under a dress!"  
Valerie rambled on as she searched for a decent dress from the pile and stepped into it.  
"Care to lace me up?" she asked over her shoulder, backing up to Cassandra, who nodded and stood up. She couldn't remember the last time she'd put a dress on, and she fumbled with the lacing several times; her fingers brushing the flesh of Valerie's lower back.  
She apologized each time, and Valerie only responded with a tender, "It's okay, Cassandra."  
Cassandra finally tied off the ribbon at the top and stepped back. Valerie turned slowly, looking at her reflection in the mirror in the corner of the room. She shrugged and looked back at Cassandra.  
Cassandra marveled- she had never seen the other woman in a dress before. The dress was a midnight blue, and the color was beautiful, but otherwise the dress was nothing special- but the way that the thin fabric accentuated Valerie's waist and her breasts- Cassandra had to remind herself to breathe.  
She looked longer- Valerie's hair had grown out a bit- no doubt Leliana would be asked to trim it before the ball. It was freshly washed and curly, having not yet been slept on, and it began to fall just over the neckline of the dress.  
Valerie looked at Cassandra, biting her lip. "I don't know what shoes I would wear with this one," she said, trying to prompt a comment.  
"I- It's okay," Cassandra began. "I like the color, but-"  
"The sleeves are ugly, I know," Valerie smiled, studying the way they flared out from the elbow down. "Alright, help me out, then." She turned around and this time she didn't pull her hair out of the way, so Cassandra had to move it. She blushed as her fingertips brushed the back of Valerie's neck.  
Undoing Valerie's dress made her even more flustered than doing it up- she couldn't help but imagine unlacing Valerie's dress under different circumstances- a situation where she might have pressed kisses to the back of Valerie's neck, and her shoulderblades and-  
"There was a red one that Leliana brought in the other day," Valerie began to think out loud. "And a green one Josephine picked out- I think there's even another blue one I might like to try on- it looks marvelous, but absolutely wrong for this party."  
"Try on as many as you like," Cassandra said, trying to sound casual.  
As soon as Valerie could wiggle out of the dress, she did, and she went back to the pile on the bed. She moved most of the dresses out of the way onto the settee, leaving only the three she'd described.  
"You might look good in this yellow one," Cassandra offered, picking one up from the pile as she put the other blue dress on top.  
Valerie shook her head, putting on the green dress. "It's too bright. I'm not Orlesian," she laughed.  
Cassandra smiled and crossed the room to help Valerie with the dress- thankfully this one only had buttons. She could manage buttons.  
As Valerie turned around to face her, Cassandra shook her head immediately. "The lace trim is far too much," she offered. There was something else about the dress she wasn't fond of, but she couldn't tell what exactly it was.  
Valerie nodded and turned back around to Cassandra; this time she pulled her hair up, and Cassandra almost wished she hadn't- in that moment she might have given anything to run her hands through Valerie's soft raven hair, even if only for a second, to reach the top two buttons.  
Finally they were at the red dress, and Cassandra could tell before it was even laced that this was the dress.  
Valerie pulled her hair to the side, but Cassandra had to comb over a few strands so she could lace the top of the dress. Valerie twirled around twice, looking at Cassandra  expectantly.  
"This one is gorgeous," she breathed.  
Valerie looked past her, at her reflection in the mirror.  
If the first dress had shown off her curves, this dress did twice that. The fabric was even thinner, only one layer, Cassandra suspected, and the neckline plunged between her breasts which was- well, it was certainly something.  
Valerie noticed her staring. "I might have to use tape to make sure everything stays in place."  
"Surely Leliana could help with that," Cassandra said, but her voice came out strained.  
"Of course," Valerie said absentmindedly, running her hands down her sides, feeling the fabric of the dress.  
"Cassandra- oh, wait," Valerie grabbed shoes off the ground. They were red and apart from having gold heels, they were entirely plain. She tossed them on the bed, where Cassandra looked them over.  
"These look perfectly appropriate," she offered, as Valerie rifled through a drawer, pulling out a black velvet garter belt, which Cassandra immediately realized was for holding a dagger.  
"So the shoes are good?" she asked, reaching for them to put on.  
Cassandra nodded, and noticed how Valerie's body language changed the second she put them on. Her posture was different, not better nor worse than her normal posture, but instead of commanding and intimidating, she looked soft and sensual.  
"Might you help me with this?" she asked about the garter, as she pulled her skirt up to her waist. "I should have put it on before the dress."  
Cassandra's mouth was suddenly dry, but she managed a "yes."  
Valerie had perched up on the edge of her desk, holding out her leg so Cassandra could slip on the garter. Cassandra visibly blushed as her hands touched Valerie's thigh- and blushed more at the realization that her skin was even softer than it looked.  
Her hands fumbled on the buckle, and Valerie smiled softly. "I can take it from here, if you wish."  
Cassandra stepped away and turned around, apologizing profusely. Valerie let her go on as she reached around to fix the buckle, but then hopped off the desk and pressed her body to Cassandra's back. "It's okay," she whispered.  
Cassandra froze, and tensed at the touch.  
They had discussed that Cassandra wasn't attracted to women. Surely, Valerie couldn't sense the doubts Cassandra was having over her decision, surely this was playful flirting, or a joke, or-  
Valerie, several inches taller in her heels, brushed the back of Cassandra's neck with her lips. Ordinarily she'd have had to be on her tiptoes to reach, and she was childishly proud of herself.  
"What are you thinking?" she asked, her voice low and her breath hot on Cassandra's skin.  
Cassandra meant to speak but only a sort of whine escaped her throat, and she clutched onto the post of the bed for support.  
What was she thinking? She was thinking of how she thought she'd entirely blown any chance she might have had with Valerie, she was thinking of how she'd imagined scenarios like this one for months, even before she turned down Valerie, she was thinking of regret, she was thinking of unrequited love, she was thinking, and she was feeling.  
She was feeling Valerie's arms snake around her waist and she was feeling Valerie's fingers brush the edge of the waistband of her breeches. She was hearing Valerie mumble, "Is this alright?" and she was nodding. She was nodding, "Yes, yes-" Her voice broke. She felt Valerie press a kiss to the back of her neck and she felt Valerie move away. She heard the sound of a drawer opening, and then the clatter of a dagger being put down, and then another, and another.  
"Does this dagger match my dress?"  
Cassandra laughed, breathlessly, turning around.  
"Yes, it's quite nice," she said.  
Valerie slipped it into the holster bit of her garter, on the inside of her thigh.  
"Would you do me a favor?"  
Cassandra nodded.  
"Could you dance with me for a few minutes and tell me if you can feel the dagger at all?"  
"Dance," Cassandra said slowly.  
"Just for a few minutes," Valerie pleaded.  
"Alright."  
And just like that Valerie was pressed back up against her, in front this time, leaning her head on Cassandra's shoulder. Cassandra rested a hand on Valerie's lower back, and she could distinctly feel Valerie's form pressed against her.  
Cassandra was only wearing breeches and a linen shirt- she'd been this close to Valerie before, carried her when she was injured, even once she'd held her as she cried, but always with more layers between them. Compared to that, the shape of Valerie's lithe body pressed so tightly against her felt absolutely scandalous.  
"Do you feel anything?"  
Cassandra had to stop herself from saying yes, yes, she felt everything, felt absolutely ecstatic, but no, she did not feel the dagger strapped to Valerie's thigh.  
She shook her head.  
Valerie stopped dancing and repositioned her leg so that it was wrapped around Cassandra's.  
"Now?"  
Another shake of the head.  
Lifted her leg further so that the entirety of the inside of her thigh was pressed against Cassandra.  
"Now?"  
"If you're this close to anyone important, they'll expect you to be armed, and they'll likely be carrying something as well."  
"So, yes?"  
"Yes, I can feel your dagger. Your dress is thin."  
Valerie put her leg down and sighed, lacing her fingers behind Cassandra's neck. "Please dance with me some more," she begged, big moon-colored eyes looking up at Cassandra, looking as if at any moment they might fill with tears.  
Cassandra felt her heart melt. "I'd dance with you all night, if you wished it."  
Cassandra let her hands roam over Valerie's body, up and down her back and her sides, even caressing her hair occasionally. Valerie was practically purring. She let her own hands wander over the Seeker's back, and she could feel the clearly defined muscle beneath her shirt. As one of her hands moved lower, back to the waistband of Cassandra's pants, Valerie felt her miss a step.  
Cassandra blushed and pulled away.  
"Are you alright?" When Cassandra didn't respond, Valerie continued with, "What are you thinking?"  
It took Cassandra a moment to process her thoughts. "I know I was wrong when I told you I didn't reciprocate your feelings," she began, unsure of where this was headed. "You- you have an effect on me no one has ever had, and it scares me."  
Cassandra was looking at the floor as she spoke. Valerie was nodding.  
"I can't make this decision for you," Valerie said softly. "I can't decide if you want to be with me or not."  
"And is that what you want? For us to be together?" Cassandra asked.  
"Absolutely."  
She bit her lip, considering all things. She wanted Valerie, that much was obvious, but she knew getting involved with the Inquisitor wasn't a good idea. Part of her wanted to listen to that notion, to protect herself, but the rest of her stepped forward and kissed Valerie.  
It was unpracticed, and rough, but Valerie found it endearing a thousand times over.  
"I want you," Cassandra said softly, trying to catch her breath.  
"And I you." Valerie peppered kisses to Cassandra's cheek, her jaw, her throat.  
"Then we are together," Cassandra breathed as Valerie took off her shoes and tossed them near her desk.  
"So we are. Help me out of this."  
Cassandra laughed- a real laugh- and carefully moved Valerie's hair over her shoulder and unlaced the top of the dress. She pushed the sleeves of the dress to the sides and left a trail of kisses atop Valerie's right shoulder, continuing to unlace the dress. Valerie squirmed, impatient to be out of the dress, but even as it fell to the floor, Cassandra wasn't ready to let her move. She ran her hand slowly over Valerie's bare back, admiring the softness of her skin, and it was Valerie who had to pick up the dress and toss it over the desk. Cassandra pinned her between the desk, and so Valerie let Cassandra lift her onto the edge of the desk and push herself between her thighs. Their foreheads were pressed together and Valerie was breathing heavily- Cassandra was oddly composed, hands exploring Valerie's stomach and sides, avoiding her breasts even as Valerie arched her back and pushed herself closer to Cassandra.  
After another minute or so, Cassandra's hands found their way to Valerie's thighs and she undid the garter quickly, tossing it to the side.  
Valerie pulled Cassandra closer to her and breathed, "Take me to bed."  
Cassandra felt her breath hitch in her throat at the bluntness of Valerie's request.  
"Of course," she managed, and picked Valerie up bridal style, which promptly caused her to giggle, as if Cassandra had never carried her like that before. Granted, it was usually reserved for when Valerie was severely injured.  
As Cassandra put her on the bed, Valerie immediately started to wiggle out of her smallclothes, and Cassandra started to pull down her own breeches. She was naked from the waist down as she crawled onto the bed, and Valerie pulled her shirt off and kissed her.  
She pulled Cassandra on top of her and wrapped a leg around her.  
"Come here, come here," she breathed, positioning Cassandra so that she had a leg between Valerie's thighs, and Valerie between Cassandra's.  
Valerie moved one of Cassandra's hands to her breasts and Cassandra followed her lead, running her thumbs over Valerie's nipples as she kissed her way down Valerie's neck, to her chest. Valerie dug her nails into Cassandra's back, squirming under her as she felt teeth brush her nipple. She tried to move her hand soothingly over the area of Cassandra's back and shoulder where she'd left red marks, and she pulled Cassandra back up and kissed her, taking the other woman's breasts into her own hands, thinking to herself how perfectly their bodies fit together, how absolutely divine it was, when the pressure of Cassandra's thigh against Valerie's clit was all too much, and Valerie had to rub against her. She pushed her leg harder against Cassandra, and tightened the one she had wrapped around her. Cassandra picked up on Valerie's pace quickly enough and rocked her hips to match the other woman.  
Valerie's breathing was erratic, and while Cassandra knew she was close, she knew Valerie was closer as she once again dug her nails into Cassandra's shoulder and buried her face in the crook of her neck.  
Cassandra reached down and held Valerie's thigh with one hand and Valerie held Cassandra close to her with her arms wrapped around Cassandra's shoulders. Cassandra could feel Valerie's thigh start to twitch and knew she was coming- sure enough she whimpered and dug her nails into Cassandra's flesh again.  
Cassandra's immediate instinct was not to mind that the hadn't finished, but to lift herself off of Valerie and to hold her as she caught her breath, peppering her cheek and her forehead with kisses.  
As soon as Valerie had composed herself enough, she flipped Cassandra onto her back and kissed her, hard. She started working her way down until she was kissing Cassandra's stomach, hands already on her thighs, when Cassandra rested a shaky hand on Valerie's arm.  
"You're trembling," Valerie whispered, moving for a second to peck Cassandra on the lips.  
"No one's ever-" Cassandra gasped as Valerie's hand brushed the inside of her thigh.  
"Relax, I'll take care of you."  
Cassandra believed her, trusted her wholeheartedly, and tried to tuck away any embarrassment or timidity as Valerie kissed the inside of her thighs, making her way closer to her-  
Cassandra mewled as Valerie's mouth found her clit, as Valerie found a rythym. Valerie had her hands on Cassandra's thighs, holding her down as she writhed beneath her. Cassandra was panting, was speaking in Nevarran, most of which Valerie couldnt understand, except for "Don't stop."  
Valerie could feel Cassandra tense, could tell she was close, and as Cassandra came, moaning Valerie's name in a way she had never heard- and never wanted to forget- Valerie loved her all the more.  
Valerie reached for Cassandra's hand as she moved up to kiss her, sweetly, and to hold her.  
"You're beautiful," Valerie said, taking in the Seeker's face, her skin glowing absolutely radiantly in the firelight.  
"I love you," Cassandra replied.  
"I love you too."  
Valerie curled herself up practically on top of Cassandra, and let Cassandra play with her hair until they both fell asleep. 

In the morning, neither of them had awakened before Leliana opened the door to ask if Valerie at least had any dresses she could eliminate from the decision. Leliana's eyes first went to the dresses on the settee, and then the one on the desk, and then Valerie's body, blankets pulled up around her waist, her bare back facing Leliana, and then the body of their very own Seeker Pentaghast.  
Leliana had to cover her smile with her hand as she pulled the door shut and made her way back to the rookery.  
Goodness, did she have a letter for her Warden.

**Author's Note:**

> And the armies of Andraste raised their voices,  
> Singing a hymn of praise to the Maker. And feared no more,  
> And Andraste went apart to seek the Maker's wisdom  
> For the battle to come.
> 
> Apotheosis 1  
> Andraste's Sermon To The Armies


End file.
